Analysis Of Still Alice

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Still Alice
José Cotto
Excelsior College Still Alice
Still Alice is a 2009 novel by Lisa Genova that outlines the challenges a woman faces after she is diagnosed with early-onset dementia. The book was adapted into a film of the same name in 2014. Alice Howland is the main character in the book. She is a Harvard cognitive psychology professor and also a world renowned linguistics expert. Her family is successful and comprises of Dr. John Howland who is a leading cancer researcher and three adult children.
The story begins when Alice is out jogging following a path she has used numerous times before. However, she gets lost in the Harvard Square and cannot remember her way back home. This is only one of the memory issues she has been experiencing …show more content…

She makes a suicide instruction recording for herself should she become increasingly affected by the condition (Genova, 2009). After her condition progresses, she discovers the recording and is about to go through with the mission. However, her increasing forgetfulness means that she cannot follow all the instructions and her mission fails. Research shows that there are increasing incidences of suicide among the elderly. They feel frustrated at the loss of their independence and as a result, they begin experiencing suicidal thoughts. This is brought about by the increased stress levels. The elderly are also likely to become depressed (García-Alberca et al. 2012).
There is also a theme of denial. The elderly might find it hard to accept that they are losing their way of life (Dougherty, 2015). They may find it hard to accept the mental and physical changes that are happening to their bodies. Alice tries to maintain her schedule by keeping her classes and attending conferences in her capacity as a professor. She does not want anyone to know that she is suffering. She believes she can still manage even when it is clear that she cannot. The elderly sometimes find it hard to accept that they are losing control of their lives due to their age and related

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